Freddy Cole, Jazz Music’s Eagle

He sends you reminiscing, as if he’s singing straight to your core. I quickly think of wine when it’s jazz a dominant voice and excellent accompaniment. However, something is so authentic about this talent; his voice stacked with that history, that familiar DNA. Yes, that rich vibrato sinks into your senses, even while he gingerly tickles the piano keys. Yes, here he is, one of the last/if not THE last powerhouse to come from the talented Cole family. Nope, no wine tonight. This isn’t the blues I’m feeling. I’m already dizzy with delight as Freddy’s voice fills the snug, lux living room. Absolutely, my dive into this evening is beyond the overused concept of wine and jazz. Man, I’m feelin all kinds of hot chocolate tonight, how Freddy’s voice is warming my sole… how his careful use of his every breath seamlessly flows with his carefree storytelling inside of each song. Tonight is that perfectly warmed coco. It’s that lather you’d never sacrifice and, and that… well, yeah. That part.

Freddy Cole, brother of Nat “King” Cole, leaves funeral services for Natalie Cole at West Angeles Church of God in Christ in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. The R&B singer Natalie Cole died on New Year’s eve at age 65. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

And yet, when older folk arrive at this place, space and time, I’m generally thinking “no filter.” Where’s all the cussin and bittersweet breakup redemption tales? Nope! In Freddy Cole’s case, his presence is authenticity that cannot be fabricated or revoked or duplicated. This man with all of his experiences, his knowledge base and fellowships affords him an eagle’s majestic flight. It’s a perspective on life, over and above all the world and it’s waywardness. If this music is what drives this elder, keeping him thriving and loved and present and “attractive” enough to draw these sold-out rooms, then God is here. God is watching. And through the voice and fellowship of Freddy Cole, God’s got a grip on this moment. Indeed, everything is a-okay. But as Freddy thanks his intimate standing room only, Alpharetta-based Velvet Note crowd, he reminds us that we should take him home with us, because “everyone… every home needs to have a Freddy Cole in it.”